The passage of a ban on same-sex marriage in California has sent shockwaves throughout the country. Since then, thousands have taken to the streets to protest this reactionary measure, with many protests planned for the coming days.

The California Supreme Court’s recent decision to over-turn the state law that banned same-sex marriage is another step forward in the struggle for sexual minorities to win full civil rights.

A leaflet produced by Socialist Alternative for this year's Gay Pride festivals and marches

The Moscow city authorities banned the Pride march planned for 27 May and the courts upheld this ban. A conference of Russian and foreign LGBT activists in Moscow on the eve of the planned march had a lot of discussion on tactics. The main dispute was whether the gay pride march should go ahead.

Something unremarkable happened on June 27, 1969 in New York's Greenwich Village, an event which had occurred a thousand times before across the U.S. over the decades. The police raided a gay bar.

The battle over same-sex marriage is heating up. Out of the bewildering stream of lawsuits, appeals, and legislative bills that have emerged over the past year, the stage is set for explosive battles in the next period.

The past few months have been a tumultuous and exciting time for the struggle of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, with a series of dramatic developments regarding same-sex marriage.

Bayard Taylor Rustin (1912 -1987) left an indelible mark on the civil rights movement as an adviser and organizer of the Montgomery bus boycott and the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. By bringing the method of non-violent civil disobedience taught by Mahatma Gandhi to the U.S., he transformed social protest. But as a gay man, Rustin faced not only racism but homophobia throughout his political life.

On June 27, the US Supreme Court upheld the rights of a gay couple from Texas. Significantly, they did not stop short at simply decriminalizing gay sex, but made a strong declaration about the equal status and rights of gay people.

The controversy stirred up by Lawrence v. Texas, the Texas anti-gay sodomy law now pending before the Supreme Court, is once again putting a spotlight on the struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality.